DECRYPTING THE DYNAMIC INTERPLAY OF SOCIO-CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS IN SHAPING OMANI UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS' INTENTIONS TOWARDS ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

Purpose - Understanding how individuals develop entrepreneurial intentions is important for promoting entrepreneurial behavior. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to assess the impact of sociocultural characteristics on Omani undergraduate students' intentions regarding enterprise development. Methodology - Empirical research is based on observed and measured events and derives knowledge from actual experience rather than theory or belief. Therefore, this study uses deductive and quantitative methodologies. Furthermore, a descriptive research approach was utilized because it describes the features of the population or topic under study. Furthermore, the purposive sampling approach, which utilises non-probability sampling, was chosen as the sampling strategy. The sample was selected on the basis of the researcher's expertise and skills. In this study, a questionnaire developed by Venesaar (2014) was used with adjustments made to ensure validity and reliability. Four demographic variables were used to determine if there was a link between family income, father's occupation, education, students' study programs, and their perceptions of socio-cultural factors influencing entrepreneurship in Oman. Findings - Since all values are greater than 0.05, there is no significant relationship between family income, father's occupation, education, study program, and students’ perspectives on sociocultural factors that influence entrepreneurship in Oman. My parents' positive attitude towards a career as an entrepreneur was significantly loaded into the first element of the ROTATED COMPONENT MATRIX; if I join the government, my family and friends will respect me, and entrepreneurs often attain greater social status and family duties by producing a consistent source of income that requires me to work, which is loaded into the second, third, and fourth elements. The loading values for these factors are 0.834, 0.816, 0.809, and 0.805, respectively. Conclusion - According to this study, sociocultural factors have a substantial influence on entrepreneurial intentions and, consequently, on the decision to establish a business. Thus, students’ sociocultural elements should be considered when designing entrepreneurial training and education programs. Keywords: Entrepreneurial intentions, Socio-cultural characteristics, Omani students, Enterprise development, Entrepreneurship JEL Codes: N30, J53, M54